Summary
Integer Overflow or Wraparound in libxml2 affects Nokogiri
Nokogiri v1.13.5 upgrades the packaged version of its dependency libxml2 from v2.9.13 to v2.9.14.
libxml2 v2.9.14 addresses CVE-2022-29824. This version also includes several security-related bug fixes for which CVEs were not created, including a potential double-free, potential memory leaks, and integer-overflow.
Please note that this advisory only applies to the CRuby implementation of Nokogiri < 1.13.5, and only if the packaged libraries are being used. If you've overridden defaults at installation time to use system libraries instead of packaged libraries, you should instead pay attention to your distro's libxml2 and libxslt release announcements.
Mitigation
Upgrade to Nokogiri >= 1.13.5.
Users who are unable to upgrade Nokogiri may also choose a more complicated mitigation: compile and link Nokogiri against external libraries libxml2 >= 2.9.14 which will also address these same issues.
libxml2 CVE-2022-29824
- CVSS3 score:
- Unspecified upstream
- Nokogiri maintainers evaluate at 8.6 (High) (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H). Note that this is different from the CVSS assessed by NVD.
- Type: Denial of service, information disclosure
- Description: In libxml2 before 2.9.14, several buffer handling functions in buf.c (xmlBuf*) and tree.c (xmlBuffer*) don't check for integer overflows. This can result in out-of-bounds memory writes. Exploitation requires a victim to open a crafted, multi-gigabyte XML file. Other software using libxml2's buffer functions, for example libxslt through 1.1.35, is affected as well.
- Fixed: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libxml2/-/commit/2554a24
All versions of libml2 prior to v2.9.14 are affected.
Applications parsing or serializing multi-gigabyte documents (in excess of INT_MAX bytes) may be vulnerable to an integer overflow bug in buffer handling that could lead to exposure of confidential data, modification of unrelated data, or a segmentation fault resulting in a denial-of-service.
References
Impact
An arithmetic operation produces a value that exceeds the integer type's maximum, causing it to wrap to an unexpected small value. Typical impact: incorrect size calculations leading to heap overflows or logic errors.
GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5 has a CVSS score of 8.6 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.13.5); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5? GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5 is a high-severity integer overflow or wraparound vulnerability in nokogiri (rubygems), affecting versions < 1.13.5. It is fixed in 1.13.5. An arithmetic operation produces a value that exceeds the integer type's maximum, causing it to wrap to an unexpected small value.
- How severe is GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5? GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5 has a CVSS score of 8.6 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of nokogiri are affected by GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5? nokogiri (rubygems) versions < 1.13.5 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5? Yes. GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5 is fixed in 1.13.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix GHSA-CGX6-HPWQ-FHV5? Upgrade
nokogirito 1.13.5 or later.